Miniature wood species - wish list

I’m going to use this blog post for my wood species wish list for some recommended types especially useful for making scale furniture. I find that I source information on the internet and promptly forget it once I come across an opportunity to use it…)Anyone who knows a great source for any of these can feel free to chime in with a link or connection to any of these materials. I’m going to post them one by one as I source, use and then evaluate my scale experience with them. Don’t know if this will be useful to any full-scale workers…but maybe box makers…fancy jewelry boxes etc.

Plus by following a modern miniaturist, you will get those modifications that a lot of old school woodworkers like my dad and grandpa don’t understand because they are always working from older plans from styles from the 50-80s…

Also – if you have personal experience with these species, feel free to add any info you feel might be important to a newer worker. I’ll add it to the list.

Sourced from all over:The bold italic ones I either already have or have already used

The finer the grained wood for carving the less likely it’ll split. Hard dense woods are good for small carvings.

Dogwood -

Apple – a pinkish-brown dense and is good for gluing and nailing

Holly – close grain with fine texture.

Basswood - already have a fair amount of stock and block of this. I’m less interested in this material due to ‘market saturation’ and a sometimes lower quality overall. walnut – Already have a fair amount (for scale work anyways) It’s coarse texture scares me a bit as a newer worker but maybe that can be reigned in with great sanding and finishing? Maybe this will be the wood I use for more of my experiments.

Mahogany - not sure about the kinds but I have a large (for me) amount of this leftover from a school project that my son never finished. Have to check on which mahogany it is since I have seen a couple of sites that listed more than one. Not sure about the differences so any info is welcome. I do wonder about the grain in this wood looking good in scale. (Reminder..I work in 12th scale..1’=1”)

Pear * – I have small amount of this one. Just a board foot but it’s so lovely and buttery looking, I am a little scare to cut it lol. So far this is my absolute favorite looking wood for the scale. It is slightly pink and smooth with very little grain (which can be added with techniques should I want) at least in the sized piece I have. Maybe I should look at larger slabs to know more but since this appears this way in a board ft, chances are that any other foot will yield the same appearance generally. I am excited to experiment with finishing this type of wood in multiple ways too.

For carvings larger than ¼ inch use basswood, walnut or mahogany

-- Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped. -Hubbard

The process of getting up and running fully, the procurement/collection/hoarding of tools and supplies and the procrastination that I constantly fight to ACTUALLY build will be the focus of this blog. Actual items will be in my projects section. I'm new here and decided to throw myself in whole hog. (I"m not a hog, but I might snort if you make me laugh hard enough) This is a more personal blog of what it's like to be a woodworker, a miniaturist and a woman in a male dominated field that I'm finding is equally filled with modern and knowledgeable fellows that help me along the way towards making the woodworking discipline work for me.

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